Cliffy - Premiere

Cliffy

Synopsis

In the small Victorian regional town of Colac, 61-year-old Cliff Young (Kevin Harrington) is an oddity. For a start, he's a vegetarian. And he's a teetotaller. Add to that, he's a virgin and still lives on the family farm with his mother.

Cliff scrounges out a meagre existence farming potatoes and a few dairy cattle. That's not so odd in these parts. But when he's not battling the fickleness of nature, Cliff doesn't head to the pub or the footy ground like most. He spends his time running, covering vast distances in a single day. On one of these runs, he meets a local girl, Mary, and an unexpected connection is formed.

When the potato crop fails - again - Cliff enters the inaugural 550 mile Sydney-to-Melbourne footrace. He hooks up with his old friend, Wally, who hasn't trained a decent runner in years, and who now lives a sad existence alone.

This unlikely duo set out to defy the doubters and qualify for the gruelling race. But waiting for Cliff in Sydney are the world's greatest distance runners and a media that views his ramshackle entourage with wide-eyed incredulity.

Foregoing sleep, Cliff runs eighteen hours a day. When he hits the wall and can't go on, Mary is on hand to help him through. When he takes the lead and shuffles on, Australia is utterly transfixed. Five days later, a nation celebrates when Cliffy wins by the proverbial country mile.

Post race, Cliff marries his sweetheart Mary to the cheers of thousands of well-wishers. But fame is a fickle mistress and Cliff soon finds himself far removed from his comfort zone as entrepreneurs circle and stark city skyscrapers replace lush green paddocks.

The death of his mother sees Cliff return home to the family farm, a changed man.

Previous Episode Synopsis

Episode 01Kevin Harrington stars as Cliffy in the remarkable story of our most unlikely sporting hero who shuffled his way into our hearts.